Immigrant education bill gains support (Oregon)

[pampango]

Source: Statesman Journal

Legislation would equalize tuition rates regardless of student's citizenship status

Some students, regardless of their immigration status, would pay tuition at state universities at the same rates as other Oregon residents under a bill that is likely to mimic some aspects of the national debate about immigration. The bill, which has surfaced in previous sessions, has Democratic and Republican cosponsors.

Advocates said the bill would benefit students such as Jessica Garcia, now a sophomore at North Eugene High School, who moved to the United States with her mother when she was 1 year old. She competes in track and cross-country and would like to become a microbiologist. "I do know that I want to attend a school where they have a big lab so I can do awesome science experiments," she said at a Capitol news conference. "Unfortunately, I also know that the cost of a university degree is up to three times as much for me compared to my peers. Tuition equity would make it possible for me to afford a university education in Oregon."

The bill specifies conditions for students to qualify for in-state tuition rates: three years at an Oregon high school, graduation from an Oregon high school, admission to a state university, and actively working toward U.S. citizenship.

Jim Ludwig, president of Oregonians for Immigration Reform, said his group opposes such bills, which since 2003 have failed to advance beyond a hearing. Ludwig argued that if Oregon granted in-state tuition rates to students who cannot prove U.S. residency, it would have to do so for all out-of-state residents, "or make an American citizen a second-class person in his own country behind illegal aliens."

Read more: http://www.statesmanjournal.com/article/20110215/STATE/102150311/Immigrant-education-bill-gains-support?odyssey=mod|newswell|text|News|s

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Oregonians for Immigration Reform views immigration as an assault on American sovereignty.

http://www.oregonir.org/